The Cracked Acorn

The Cracked Acorn Original, sustainable, colorful textiles for your home!

06/10/2026

Before I can weave a single row, every thread has to pass through the loom in exactly the right order.

This is the threading stage for my second linen shirt sampler. The fabric itself is only a sample, but the setup process is very real!

After weaving and finishing my first sampler, I decided to try a slightly tighter sett and test a few more twill variations before committing to an entire shirt warp.

Sampling takes extra time, but it's one of the best ways to learn what a fabric wants to be. A few hours spent sampling can save many yards of weaving later.

Now to see whether this version becomes a shirt... šŸ˜Š

06/05/2026

The linen sampler is finally off the loom!

But weaving was only half the experiment...

Next comes washing, drying, measuring, and figuring out which structures actually behave the way I want them to.

Fabric changes a lot after finishing, and sometimes the sample that looked best on the loom isn't the winner in the end.

Time to find out!

06/03/2026

This pattern was one of my favorite samples on the loom.

I love the braided look it creates in the fabric.

I was hoping it would become my go-to fabric for a shirt, but even on the loom I'm no longer sure it is right for a shirt.

That's the value of sampling, though! You don't really know until you try the pattern out.

Back to the loom for more experiments!

Handwoven blankets and towels available through the shop. Link in bio.

06/01/2026

First project in the new studio!

The walls aren't finished, but the loom is working. Walls aren't done, electricity isn't hooked up but the weather is nice and I had to drag the loom out to play in there!

I'm still weaving through my linen sampler and taking notes on sett, structure, and finishing. Some samples are obvious winners. Some are teaching me what not to do.

Either way, that's the point! šŸ¤£

05/29/2026

Finally moved from tabby into twill on this 30 epi linen sampler, and Iā€™m really happy with how balanced the structure is looking so far!

Still plenty left to learn once it comes off the loom - washing and finishing can change everything with linen - but this is the point where the cloth starts feeling promising.

A few new handwoven blankets just landed in the shop, too.

05/27/2026

Working through a linen sampler warp at 30 ends per inch....

Iā€™m weaving each pattern twice - once in each color - so I can see how the colors interact with the weave structure before committing to larger yardage later on.

Still in the tabby/plainweave section here, which is slow going at this sett, but Iā€™m learning a lot already!

05/25/2026

Freshly tied on and weaving the first samples on a new 30 epi linen warp!

At this stage the cloth always feels a little magical to me - bundles of loose threads slowly turning into actual fabric.

This sampler is for testing sett, structure, and finishing before weaving larger linen yardage.

05/22/2026

Threading the linen sampler warp at 30 ends per inch. šŸ˜…

This is exactly why I sample before committing to full yardage. A few experimental yards now is much better than discovering six yards later that I made a terrible decision!

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Pasadena, MD

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